Regarding my Acceptance of Bitcoin

“The First Rays of Sunlight” – Summer 2013 – Frick Park – Pittsburgh, PA

So I have been receiving a few emails with questions regarding my acceptance of bitcoin… I have decided to just write about the subject as I have sent the same reply email ten times now… This post is different from anything I have ever written… But I think it will explain why I believe bitcoin is a good thing… And why I think we should all adopt it…

Bitcoin is a decentralized currency that only exists in the digital realm… Meaning… There is nothing physical about it… It is a line of code… I often compare it to gold in that it has a value because supplies are limited… It is difficult to acquire… And increasingly in demand… It is also similar to gold in that its value is universal… When a bitcoin is worth a thousand dollars in the United States… It is worth the equivalent of that anywhere in the world…

Across the bottom of many of my posts you will find my bitcoin wallet address… Just in case – 1JsKwa3vYgy4LZjNk4YmPEHFJNjPt2wDJj – is what it looks like… I can receive bitcoins with this address… If you had one… I could send bitcoin to you… It is safe to post it anywhere… This number only receives… In order to send you actually have to log into your wallet… This is not possible with this address…

If you want a digital wallet… I recommend CoinBase… It is free to sign up… You can receive coins with it… But much more importantly… You can buy bitcoins using this service… Safely… They are based in the United States… And are not linked to the Silk Road or any other drug related dealings… They are a legitimate investments service… Operated by real people… Who actually return emails promptly…

I also like the fact that I can send money anywhere in the world without any kind of charge… I can send twenty dollars to an artist in Africa instantly… I can donate to a cause in Brazil… Hell… I can accept donations or tips from anyone in the world… No matter how large or small… This is why I believe bitcoin could revolutionize blogging… It would allow us to tip each other with actual money… And because bitcoin is digital… Sending small amounts is possible without a transaction fee (There is a transaction fee – But it is so small you will never even notice it)… Basically… If I read your post and like it… I could “tip” you with anything from a fraction of a cent all the way up to millions of dollars… If we all had bitcoin addresses… Making a small amount of money could be possible…

I personally believe bitcoin is here to stay… Though I do not believe it will replace fiat currency… I do believe it will become a commodity like gold or silver… It just makes sense that the concept of “value” would stray away from physical materials into the digital realm… As we as a culture spend more time in cyberspace… We will find ourselves looking for objects of equal value… In a world of computer codes… It just makes sense that we would find certain codes to put value on… The gems of the computer world… Like gold locked away in digital codes…

I recommend anyone who actively blogs at least looks into the world of bitcoins… Check out my link above and sign up for a wallet… After you have a wallet… You will be given a receive address… Anyone in the world with a bitcoin wallet can now send you money… If they like your post… They could send you a few pennies… Or a few million dollars… It just depends on how good of a writer you are…

Since the wallet is free… And costs nothing to maintain… I feel there is no reason all of our blogs don’t list bitcoin addresses… As far as I am concerned… To not have one is to miss out on possible earnings… However small a piece of the pie… But pie none the less…

Just in case you would like to open a wallet – CoinBase is what I use… If you want to purchase coins you have to let them link to your bank account… And the entire transaction takes 4 days for security purposes… I HAVE PERSONALLY DONE THIS… I have bought coins through their service… My only complaint would be they were a little too careful… But that’s not a real complaint…

If you would like anymore information about bitcoins… Please don’t hesitate to ask – c.condello@hotmail.com

plant petunias and question everything – chriscondello

Donations and Tips – 1JsKwa3vYgy4LZjNk4YmPEHFJNjPt2wDJj

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Eco Soldier – Resource Wars

“Resources” – © chriscondello 2013 – Abandoned House – Wilkinsburg, PA – What is a resource?.. It depends on your surroundings… You know… I have heard there are more abandoned houses than homeless people… If in fact that it true… The system is truly failing us…

How many trees will be cut to the ground?..
How much oil will be drilled from the earth?..
How much gas?.. How much coal?..
Another mine and we’ll be living in a hole…

Future skyscrapers… Gas tower skyline…
As dangerous as a nuclear land mine…
Sitting smack dab in the middle of a park…
And here we come walking in the dark…

Nuclear exposure… Tolerance builds…
Induced allergens… Medical bills…
Who the fuck is going to fight this war?..
Take this system and rattle it to its core…

We are all now ecological soldiers…
Gearing up to fight the resource wars…
Enemy combatants will come from far…
Just to fight over our sand and tar…

Domination is not a resolution…
Governments operate similar to prostitution…
Control healthcare… Control life and death…
Control the controllers every breath…

We are nothing more than a tax base…
Governments farm the human race…
Then they harvest our ripe green money…
Obama says it tastes slightly like honey…

Or a fine wine… Bought on our dime…
At an event that was attended by slime…
While they eat organic free range beef…
While you and I get fed Monsanto wheat…

GMO corn is like political porn…
Subsidies are just a way to weather the storm…
Farm stamp… I mean… Food stamp bill…
About the same as telling everyone to chill…

We got this… We got your back…
Would you rather we bring back a problem like crack…
War on drugs… Politicians are thugs…
Sweep the sweepers right under the rug…

Weather the storm… Storm the weather…
Either way we need to stand together…
We will never outgun the government machine…
Hold them accountable… Make them clean…

Stand up for what you believe in…
Whether God… Science… Or sin…
Stand up… Woman and men…
Time to fight… Words… Fists… Or pen…

plant petunias and question everything – chriscondello

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Practical Permaculture – Permaculture is NOT Trademarked

I grew this 2000 lb. pumpkin in my ass using the principles of permaculture… Moving it was the easy part… Take my $1000 class to find out how…

Permaculture is not vegetarianism… It’s not veganism… It’s not new-age… It’s not even peaceful… To me… It’s the heavy metal of gardening… Bill Mollison, the father of permaculture is a bad ass… The man has the ability to change climates… He is a self-made millionaire… And the man has composted human bodies before…  On a different note… Bill Mollison is a brilliant business man… If you don’t realize how “big business” permaculture has become… Then I’m going to seriously disappoint you with this post… I’m starting to see permaculture and permaculturists as “the man”… And occasionally… The man needs to be brought to his knees…

In my city, Pittsburgh, the permaculture people who I have met so far have for the most part been elitist, condescending, and downright rude… Now I’m not saying that all permaculturists are like that… I’m just saying… If my perceptions of a movement that I deeply believe in are this swayed… What in the hell do you expect other people to think… 

The permaculture design certificate course… Supposedly life saving information… Proprietary… Bullshit… Read any detailed gardening book and you will find the exact same information… Just with different terminology… Permaculture had to separate itself somehow… They want there $1000 dollar course to actually mean something… I did not have to spend $1000 to learn how to garden… Why should I pay a grand to practice something that I was doing long before I knew the word permaculture?.. And long before most PDC recipients had ever touched a shovel… To be honest… I don’t… And I won’t…

So here it goes… And I know I am going to piss people off with this… Permaculture is NOT a trademarked word… I can use it all I want… Permaculture… Huh huh… Permaculture… Permaculture… Look here… I’ll even alter it… Permabastard… Permabitch… You can’t do a thing… The fact that you would even try to trademark these principles is a vulgar testament to your greed… If you people were so interested in saving the world… Trademarks would be the last FUCKING thing on your mind… Not a single country in the world was willing to grant “anyone” a trademark on permaculture… Think about that…

“Welcome Home” – © chriscondello 2013 – Jeanette Street – Wilkinsburg, PA

Let’s talk about permaculture books for a second… I have read as many as I have been able to get my hands on… I have watched all of the propaganda films… I have even watched 2 72 hour PDC courses… One taught by Bill Mollison… And one taught in a university setting in North Carolina… This does not make me an expert by any means… But I will say there is very little proprietary information in any of these books… I find the exact same information in my Better Homes and Gardens books… But since reading any book that mentions pesticides is taboo with the permaculturists… They will never even know…

I see the PDC on the same level as a 2 year associates degree school… You know… The kind you see commercials for at 2 AM on TV… I have some bad news people… That course doesn’t mean a god damn thing… It is a pyramid scheme… You get taught information by a teacher… Then given a certificate to teach other people… The pyramid keeps growing as more people learn… And ultimately… Bill Mollison sells books… While sitting at the top of his pyramid… Laughing…

Never put more energy into something than you can get out of it… I know people who spend more time in the compost heap then they spend in the garden… Don’t be one of those people… Permaculture is about using resources wisely… Sadly… Money is one of those resources… I just don’t see how a class that costs $1000 dollars is solving any problems… To me… That is helping the elite few who can afford to pay that… Not the people who need this information to survive… If you can afford to take that class… You can afford to feed yourself…

I’m not saying I wouldn’t jump on the opportunity to take the course… But I “literally” can’t afford it… I would take every class that I could… But I can’t afford it… So I will just have to live with all the PDC recipients calling me a hack and refusing to talk to me… Even though they talked to me before they were the elite few…

Earth Care… People Care… Fair Share… My rosy red ass… More like… Bottom Line… Bottom Line… Bottom Line… Get real people…

Now I’m not saying permaculture or permaculturists are bad people or have bad intentions… What I am saying is we all need to get off our high horses… This is not special information… It is standard information… Just organized in a brilliant way… By a brilliant businessman… With an awesome name… That’s it people… Get over it…

“Perfectly Plum” – © chriscondello 2013 – Hamnett Place Community Garden – Wilkinsburg, PA

The deeper I have gotten in the permaculture world… The less I have liked it… And not so much permaculture… But the people involved… When someone asks a permaculture question… The answer should never be… “Take my permaculture course and I’ll tell you”… You know what I have to say about that… ASK ME… I’ll tell you anything you want to know about permaculture for free… Anytime… Anywhere…

In the past year… I have received a bunch of emails from people asking me about permaculture gardens that they had installed by the so-called permaculture designers… People are not typically happy with these systems after a year or two… They typically do not look nice… And permaculture is starting to get a bad name… Just because a plant is native… Does not mean it is not invasive… Just because a teacher tells you about a plant that did well in one location… Does not guarantee it will do good anywhere else…

So keep making those mistakes PDC people… Because your mistakes… Are my future work… Because fixing your mistakes… Is slowly becoming my business… Dont hire a permaculture designer when what you are really looking for is a Gardener with a solid understanding of what is good… And what is absolute SHIT in the permaculture world…

I am not the only person with this sentiment… There are a lot of us… Typically we are explained as disgruntled… Or unsuccessful practices… I have had nothing but success… My gripe does not come from permaculture… It comes from the people involved… When the permaculture people show me love… I will show them love… But until then… This is how it has got to be…

Again… I am not saying permaculture is bad… In fact… I think just the opposite… What I am saying is… Do not fall for the lie that the only way to be a permaculture designer is through a $1000 dollar course… I get that PDC’s need to make money too… It is a sentiment that has been plastered all over the internet by them… But they shouldnt be making money with a scam gardening course… Just saying…

plant petunias and question everything – chriscondello – sans pdc since 1981 and proud of it

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Catalog Sustainability

Money can’t buy happiness… But it can buy sustainability… Apparently…

What’s the point of a solar panel?.. If my neighbor loses his job at the plant…
Problems… Problems… Problems… You rave and you rant…

I only hear can’t…

Few people can afford sustainability…
Even less can achieve it from scratch…
Sustainability is essentially survival…
With an ecological catch…

Permaculture has become a trademark…
Possibly the next big trend…
Corporate community gardens…
Food banks essentially lend…

I have no interest in your expensive toys…
How many hours of labor did they cost…
How many miles… How many souls…
Why don’t you realize your lost?..

Only poor people get lost… Only rich people get found…

~…

Spread your energy over a thousand non-profits…
Believe in what is most likely a false prophet…
Most of your neighbors think you have lost it…
But at least you gave 20 to a worldwide non-profit…

While your neighbor starves…
Or freezes in the cold…
Sometimes charity…
Requires you to be bold…

Requires you to act…
Without making a sound…
No party or glory…
When no ones around…

Some of the most profound acts of kindness… Are often anonymous…

peace – chriscondello

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